The Forward Works Viewer tool developed to support and accelerate the rebuild of Canterbury has exceeded all expectations by generating more than $4 million in cost savings — a figure that is set to grow to more than $20 million in coming years.
The Viewer gives recovery agencies, public and private sector users a shared online view of horizontal infrastructure repair, planned buildings and other construction.
“The Viewer is a great example of how location information can benefit the people of Canterbury in real terms,” Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) chief executive Peter Mersi says.
“Since its launch in 2013, it has proven to be invaluable, enabling better coordination and planning of work, and helping rebuild agencies avoid costs caused by unforeseen variations and programme delays.
“The more data in the system, the greater ability everyone has to plan ahead and coordinate activities. The Viewer will go from strength to strength, especially as private companies share more of their information, resulting in further benefits to the Canterbury rebuild,” Mr Mersi says.
The Viewer was developed in partnership between the agencies coordinating the Canterbury rebuild: LINZ, the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT), Christchurch City Council (CCC), Christchurch Transport Operations Centre (CTOC), the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), and the Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU), a part of CERA.
“The Forward Works Viewer is a very important tool in the delivery of the various projects in central Christchurch,” CCDU director Warwick Isaacs says.
“By ensuring the work on the ground by the public and private sectors is coordinated, we are able to avoid delays that could end up costing the taxpayer or developers, and that’s good for the whole recovery,” he says.
